The Eight Other Gay Rights Victories Since Obama Took Office

Ed O'Keefe at The Washington Post has been keeping careful track of all the gay rights victories won at the federal level since Obama took office, and today catalogs them on his Federal Eye blog. In addition to the Justice Department's decision today to stop defending the Defense of Marriage Act, here's what's happened:

• May 24, 2009: Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton
announces plans to extend a series of benefits to the same-sex partners
of U.S. diplomats working abroad, including diplomatic passports,
relocation assistance, use of embassy medical facilities, and inclusion
in emergency evacuations from posts abroad.

• June 17, 2009: President Obama signs a memo extending fringe benefits
to the same-sex partners of gay federal employees and announces his
support for legislation that would extend all benefits to them. The
legislation has yet to pass.

• June 3, 2010: As part of his previous push to
extend more benefits to the same-sex partners of federal employees,
Obama signs a memo offering a wider range of them, including access to medical treatment, relocation assistance, credit unions and fitness centers.